February 24, 2019 |
Grunge, glamour supermodels (new and old), bondage, baroque, metal mesh, rock ‘n’ roll, drop dead incredible eveningwear, hip swishing sexiness – this Versace show had it all. The Versace label has been acquired by Capri Holdings Ltd but if anyone was expecting a discernible Americanisation of the brand – forget it! Donatella Versace doubled down on the essence of Versace and came up with a belter of a collection that offered a terrifically modern take its nineties codes. Shalom Harlow (she of the joyful dancing viral) opened the show in a trench spliced with baroque quilting. Then came lace edged slip dresses worn with destroyed cashmere (the holes were hand done in the atelier) drape-y little party tops layered over printed shirt dresses and lime green lace stockings. Maximalism is not dead! There were plenty of safety pins and bondage harnesses and even a merch moment with Donatella’s iconic Blonde perfume campaign (lenses by Richard Avedon in 1995) printed on T-shirts. It wouldn’t be Versace without an iconic supermodel (or ten). Take your pick from Adut Akech in a stunning orange metal mesh goddess gown, Kendall Jenner in lace leggings and a tuxedo jacket, Candace Swanepoel and Gigi Hadid in full on satin bondage gear or Stephanies Seymour vamping in a floor length gown to close the show.
Photographs by Jason-Lloyd Evans.
